Where to Volunteer Around Denver

Please excuse me while I take a quick break from talking about running, hiking, etc...

To say this week has been unusual would be an understatement. In the midst of the fog, my friend Lindsay and I have been talking about ways we can get more involved in our community, from recurring donations to organizations we care about to offering our time and womanpower, so I started doing a bit of research and am taking steps to start volunteering with at least one organization soon.

Below is a list of organizations in the Denver-metro and surrounding areas that can use volunteers. I'm including organizations that request regular commitments from volunteers and ones that need help periodically; some offer both options. I've tried to organize in a way that makes sense, but clearly some fit in more than one category. This is not an exhaustive list but I plan to update it as I learn or think of others.

Feel free to suggest other organizations in the comments - in Denver or elsewhere! The more we can do, the more people who get involved and help others, the stronger our communities become.

The Arts
Colorado Symphony - serves more than 250,000 people from all walks of life, performing a range of musical styles, from traditional to contemporary.

Dairy Arts Center - provides the Boulder community diverse opportunities to create, learn and participate in high quality performing, cinematic, and visual arts.

Swallow Hill Music - provides Denver-area residents music lessons and music classes, and offers incredible concerts in Denver year round.

Children
Girls on the Run of the Rockies - Transformational physical activity based positive youth development program for girls in 3rd-8th grade.

Food & Nutrition
Food Bank of the Rockies - feeds the hungry in Colorado and Wyoming.

Food for Thought Denver - Provides PowerSacks of food to children at Title 1 schools in Denver each Friday to bridge the hunger gap between meals they receive at school.

Metro Caring - Denver's leading organization working towards hunger prevention and food waste reduction.

Project Angel Heart - Delivers nutritious meals to improve quality of life, at no cost, for those coping with life-threatening illnesses.

Health
9Health Fair - The largest volunteer-driven, non-profit health and education program in the nation.

Outdoors & Environment
Volunteers for Outdoors Colorado - An environmental organization dedicated to motivating and enabling Coloradans to be active stewards of their public lands.

Social Services
The Action Center - Provides basic human needs and pathways to self-sufficiency for Jefferson County.

The Gathering Place - Denver’s only daytime drop-in center for women, children, and transgender individuals who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.

Come back later this week for another running post.

3 Simple Reasons Why Runners Should Volunteer at Races

When my alarm went off at 4:30am I was half hoping it was a joke, but I knew people were counting on me so I crawled out of bed as quietly as possible so I wouldn't wake up Matt. An hour later I was with my Oiselle teammates setting up tables, filling water cups, and getting ready for thousands of runners to come through our water stop just past 5 miles on the Rock 'n Roll Denver Half Marathon and 10k course.

Photo Credit: Rebekah Leoni

It's been far too long since the last time I volunteered at a race, and I was glad to be back out there. Here are three super simple reasons why I think all runners should volunteer for races.

1) Without volunteers, it's likely there'd be fewer races to run.

This is a two-parter. First: economics. Race organizers - of all sizes, for-profit and non-profits - would have a difficult time making their balance sheets work if they had to pay all the people working water stops, start and finish lines, packet pick-ups, etc. Second: Experience. People are needed in all these positions so that the event is safe and people (runners, spectators, and community members) all have a great experience. If a race isn't safe or fun, it won't last long. Volunteers are as essential as participants for a successful race.

2) As members of the running community, and people who benefit from the support of race volunteers, it's important to give back.

For any community to be productive, positive, and long-lasting, we need to support one another, give as much as (or more than) we take, and encourage the best out of ourselves and our neighbors. That means volunteering our time, talent, and effort. Supporting others in our community.

Photo Credit: Kacey Kendrick

3) It's Fun!

Yes, you'll likely have to wake up really early, you might not get your own run in that day, and you might get wet and dirty, but it's worth it! All the 'thank you's' and smiles you receive, and knowing that you're helping runners - of all levels - tackle their goals, makes all that well worth it. There's something so wonderful about knowing that you're helping make someone else's day a little bit easier and a little bit better. I volunteered with several of my awesome Oiselle Colorado teammates (two of whom drove 1.5 hours to join us), but even if you volunteer on your own or with just a few friends or family members, it will be as fun as you want it to be! 

With all this said, a quick note to race directors and volunteer coordinators (having a tiny bit of experience in this role as well):

Please don't take your volunteers for granted. They are giving up their time to help you and your participants. Give them the information, tools, and support they need. Thank them and do all you can to make sure they feeling appreciated. Remember, without them, putting on your race would be a lot harder!

Do you volunteer at races? * If not, what's holding you back?

ING NYCM Expo Training

I have been all over this week and it’s only Wednesday morning! I am not letting these crutches stop me!

As you know, I’m volunteering at the ING NYC Marathon Expo Saturday afternoon. I’ve volunteered for several races and I’ve been to the Expo a few times but I’ve never volunteered at it, so I’m pretty excited. For some runners, it’s the first taste of marathon excitement that they get and it can be a bit overwhelming and runner heaven all at the same time. I haven’t been to very many expos, but I have to imagine this is one of the biggest. I mean, it’s gigantic. Monday night, as an expo volunteer, I had to attend a training session at the Javitz Center.

Several hundred volunteers were there and we were right in the middle of everything. They had us meet in the massive hall where the expo is being built. Actually, they were building while we were there. It was pretty cool to see things in such a state. While we could have easily been out and on our way in much shorter time than we were, we did get an inside track on a few things. For those running on Sunday, it might be helpful to know that bib pickup isn’t color coded this year; it’s all by numbers only. Also, new this year, the marathon shirts are in men’s and women’s sizes. Ladies, you know what this means….you may not get the size you want (which really isn’t new though, is it?). NYRR ordered shirts using their ‘best guess’ so who knows how many there will be of the size you want. My suggestion is that if they don’t have your size, it’s best to go up a size instead of down because women’s shirts are typically slim cut and you’d rather have it be a little loose and be able to wear it than not be able to because it’s too tight.

Part way through the orientation Mary Wittenberg stopped by to say hi. She spoke about the importance of this race as it’s the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 (the marathon was the first big event to happen in the city post-9/11 and almost didn’t happen) and the race is being dedicated to Grete Weitz.

Check out the new NYRR logo!

The expo is open to everyone, so if you want to learn about races all over the world, pick up some cool new gear, meet runners (both casual runners like us and elites) and learn where the best places are to watch on Sunday, then I suggest you check it out. It can get a bit hectic, so you’ll need to bring along some patience too! I’ll be working ID check (just for the runners) Saturday afternoon, so if you come to the expo stop by and say hi! I’m looking forward to finally meeting MissZippy and Molly!

If you’re coming, here are the details: Location – Jacob Javitz Center – 11th Ave and 33rd St (It’s huge, you can’t miss it)

Thursday & Friday – 10am – 8pm, Saturday – 9am – 5pm

If you’re running this Sunday, I hope you’re having a great week and feeling good!

Quick injury update: My leg is feeling really good, but not quite 100% yet. I have a follow up with my Sports Doc this morning so we’ll see what she says! I know I’ll still be on crutches a few more days but I hope I don’t have to take them to Denver with us next week.

• What do you think of the new NYRR logo?
• What makes an expo a great expo in your opinion?

A Whole Lot of Bagels and Carrots

Thanks for all the get well wishes yesterday. I'm feeling much better today. I spent the day on the couch and slept for an hour and a half during the afternoon and it seems to have passed. I hate ever being sick, but at least this was a quick hit.

I wrote this a few days ago but haven't gotten it up yet. I'm sure you're thinking: bagels and carrots? They don't go together! And you're right. But that's what I spent my Sunday morning with anyway.

Grace and I volunteered at Gold's Love We Deliver, through the Urban Girl Squad. Going into it I knew a few things about GLWD.

1. They make and deliver food to people who are too sick to shop and/or cook for themselves.
2. There is a NYRR race every November that supports the organization.
3. Joan Rivers is on the board of directors.

We arrived at the building on 6th Ave at 9:45am and met up with a bunch of other women there with the UGS. Emily, the volunteer specialist, gave us an overview about the organization then we watched a really moving video that explained the history of the organization and who they help.

GLWD was founded in 1986 by Ganga Stone and Jane Best in order to deliver healthy, prepared meals to HIV/AIDS patients in New York City. As treatments for AIDS and HIV were developed, the mission of the foundation evolved to also help people suffering from other serious illnesses. They also deliver meals for the children of patients so the family can eat healthfully. All of the meals are healthy and nutritious because these patients need this food to overcome their illness and gain strength. There is never a waiting list, each client gets 10 meals a week and a personalized cake on their Birthday. GLWD also provide nutrition counseling and have published nutrition guides.

There are fewer than 80 people on staff at GLWD, so a lot of the work is done by volunteers. A great amount of the funds are raised through donations and many restaurants in the city support the organization as well. Individuals, organizations and companies can volunteer.

The video we watched

Once we had learned the history and got our safety lesson (you must wash your hands about a billion times, wear hair nets, aprons and gloves to keep germs off the food), we headed down to the kitchen. While others in our group were peeling onions, my first job was to wrap bagels. It's a good thing, too, because most of the time, I start tearing up as soon as I start on an onion! I have to say, after wrapping at least 200 bagels, I think I'm now a professional! After that, I got to pick up a knife and a peeler to attack a major bag of the biggest carrots I've seen. I mean, these were huge carrots, but our table went through those two bags in less than 20 minutes. We were on a roll. And before I knew it, it was almost 1pm and we were cleaning up.

I met some great people and I'm so glad Grace and I were able to volunteer together. It was a great experience and especially love the fact that we were doing something to truly help people just get through each day. It's so exhausting to be sick, especially if you're on your own, and GLWD is literally saving lives.

Here are some pics from the day courtesy of GLWD. You can see more of the fun HERE.

I really encourage you to learn more about God's Love We Deliver, and think about donating or volunteering with the organization. It's really amazing and selfless work that they're doing every day.

• What's your favorite way to give back to your community?
• Do you have good knife skills in the kitchen?
• Do you tear up when peeling & chopping onions?

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Today's workout -
easy 45min elliptical
3x10 cable pull twists
3x12 overhead tricep extensions
3x10 front arm raise
100 crunches
2x40sec planks
stretching

Saturday Wake-Up: 5:00am

I'm used to waking up at 5am during the week, but not on Saturday! Something has to be really special to get me out of bed that early. Today, I got out of bed for some great kids from the Manhattan Academy of Technology!

I was one of the lucky few who got to be a race buddy at the Norway Run in Central Park - a 1.7mile run (the lower loop) that's part of the Norwegian Festival (there's also a half marathon, a troll stroll for the little ones and a festival featuring bagels, cream cheese and lox)! It's one of the best NYRR events, if you ask me. I've run the half and volunteered as a course marshal in the past, but this time I got to run with kids from MAT as their race buddy through the NYRR Youth Programs!

As a race buddy I was paired up with one of the local school teams, met with the coach when they arrived, helped them put their bibs and d-tags on, warmed up with them, and ran the race with them. It was the first race for most of the kids and I think the first time any of them had run in Central Park. Several of the parents were there to cheer them on and enjoy the experience. The race was for people of all ages, so these kids were running with adults who have been running for decades! I chose to run with the two girls on the team because they were going to be the slowest. I wanted to help them through the race and encourage them to do their best. If you know the park, you know the lower loop (like the rest of the park) has many hills. These girls did an amazing job!! They pushed through and ran the entire race. The start/finish was in about the same place as it is for the marathon, so when we got to the bottom of the last hill and they saw the finish line, they started sprinting. On their own with no encouragement from me. They absolutely rocked the race! It was awesome to see them push through, even though they had to slow down a little, they never walked. Not one step. It was so great to help them get through their first race and accomplish something great and new! They were so cute thanking the people along the course who were cheering them on and navigating around those who started too fast and ended up walking. It was also cool to tell their parent's how great they had done and how hard they worked. I could definitely tell how happy they were to hear that and how proud of their daughters they were!

The whole team was great and their coach obviously really cares about getting them running, teaching them how to run correctly and how to race correctly (he kept reminding them not to start too fast and to start slower than they thought they should so they could finish without walking). I was talking with a few of the boys during warm-ups and they were saying how they don't care if they win they just want to finish! I love that! These are middle school boys, some of whom are pretty fast, but they knew it was their first race and they just wanted to have fun and finish! Personally, I thought that was a great perspective to have. Maybe it has something to do with the teaching at their school (PS126/MAT was featured on NBC Nightly News this week when they had a visit from Bill Gates & Tom Brokaw)!

Anyway, I woke up early, it's only 12:15pm and I'm kind of exhausted, but I had a great morning and I'd definitely wake up that early another morning to do it again! When I was their age I could hardly finish a mile. To see them running races and spending their Saturday morning being physically active, was really inspiring amidst all the bad news we hear every day about the state of our health as a nation. We just need to get more kids out there, right?

GOGI 10K tomorrow morning! Can't wait for Woody to run his first race! I have to say, he got this really cute excited/nervous look on his face yesterday when I brought his race pack home last night and he realized he's running his first race and had his first bib number! (We're numbers 11 & 12 - it's by alphabetical order, not speed!) I'm a little nervous by the fact that there are three loops that overlap. I really hope I don't get lost! I also hope we don't miss the boat to get there!

How is your weekend going so far?
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today's workout -
1.7mile jog
stretching

A Friday PSA for Runners

You all know I'm involved with two non-profit running organizations here in the city: New York Road Runners Young Professionals Committee (benefiting the NYRR Youth Programs) and Girls on the Run Manhattan. There are two events coming up you may be interested in, and there's even a bit for those of you not in NYC.

is June 2nd

There are events happening all over the country, and everyone is encouraged to organize their own event if one isn't scheduled for their area already. If you know of an event not listed on the site, go ahead and add it for others! From the website: It's all about that first step! Running is an incredibly healthy, easy, and accessible form of exercise. Whether it’s five minutes, 15 minutes, or 45 minutes, every little bit of time spent running makes a difference in the goal to live healthy, happy, and heart strong.

Of course, the NYRR YPC isn't going to sit and let this great day pass us by... join us for a

Details:

Fun Run - 6:30pm

meet at 81st and CPW, just inside the park

 (there will be someone to watch bags)

Happy Hour - 7:30 till 9:30

The Gin Mill

442 Amsterdam Ave.

Ticket price: $20

includes fun run, appetizers, cash bar feat. drink specials, 2 raffle tickets

Raffle Prizes donated by: New York Health & Racquet Club, Siggi’s Yogurt, Runningskirts.com, Peanut Butter & Co., Foodtrainers, Soul Cycle, French Connection, USTA, and NYSC Wall Street. 

All proceeds go to support the NYRR Youth Programs, which impact nearly 100,000 under served children each week.

If you have questions, ask me, or email nyrrypc@nyrr.org

Next up is:

As the spring season comes to a close, GOTR chapters across the country are getting ready for the big season end 5K! This is what the girls have been working towards for months.

The 5K races take a lot of preparation and support, before the event and the day of, so each chapter recruits volunteers to help make the event a success.

Our local chapter is looking for help in the following ways:

Race Day Set-Up and Clean-Up Managers

Entertainment Manager

Head Cheerleader

Race-Day Volunteers

Running Buddies (this is a big one - 300 women are needed!)

The NYC 5K is on June 5th at Asphalt Green.

If you're interested in volunteering, visit this website.

If you're not in NYC but are interested in helping your local chapter, visit this site and search for your area!

I like to think that being a runner makes me part of an unbelievable community of healthy, determined and all around great people. And one of the best things about that is being able to give back and help others enjoy this great hobby.

Today is the last day to enter the PB & Co. giveaway. So if you haven't done so yet, click here and comment away! Giveaway ends at 8pm est. and I'll announce the winner tomorrow!

Good luck!!

What are your weekend health and fitness plans?

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Workout Stats -

13mi bike

3mi elliptical

3x10 hamstring deadlift, bicep curl, shoulder press combo

3x12 forward straight arm raise

3x10 weighted side bends

3x10 cable twists

150 crunches

foam roller & stretching

Where is the Sun?

It is snowing again. I don't think we've had this many snow storms in one winter since I moved here almost six years ago! I don't really mind snow, but the fact that this storm has also included rain and sleet and is being called a 'snow hurricane' by meteorologists, plus the fact that the MORE/Fitness Half Marathon is two months from today and I need to get some outdoor running in, makes me ready for this winter to be over!

To counteract the snow and gloom, I am so excited to say that Katie, over at Health for the Whole Self, passed on to me my first 'bloggy award' - the Sunshine Award! According to Katie, “The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world.” I am extremely honored that Katie not only reads my blog, but that she is inspired by it! I'm so glad that I found Katie's blog a few weeks ago. She is intelligent, funny, caring and I feel our ideas and views are very similar. Her blog is a 'must read' on my list!

I have to say, that I've been inspired by so many other bloggers and non-blogging runners and health enthusiasts over the past few years and have learned so much from so many people. As much as I appreciate being recognized, I feel that because so many others inspire me, I can't begin to name you all.

Instead, I'm going to name one blogger, who is first and foremost a friend. She has been through more in the past few years than anyone should have to deal with in an entire lifetime. Her humor, sincerity, willingness to share her raw emotions and her beautiful writing inspire me to keep moving every day. Heather, at The Spohrs are Multiplying, has touched so many lives and I can confidently say that she has inspired thousands more than just me.

In other news, I'm very excited about something new I'm getting involved with! Well, the organization isn't new, but it's new for me. Last night I met with a woman from Girls on The Run to talk about how I can get involved. We had a great chat, discussing the organization, running, and an assortment of other things. I'm very excited about working with the organization, volunteering with the Communications committee, meeting likeminded women in NYC,  and helping to expose young girls (ages 8-12) to running and self-esteem boosting opportunities! I'm sure I'll talk much more about this in the months to come!

Before I go for today, I can't ignore another win by the USA Men's Hockey team at the winter olympics!! Ryan Miller (an MSU alumni!) saved 19 goals in yesterday's game after stopping 42 on Sunday! He's on a roll and is still going strong! The women's team is playing against Canada in the gold medal game today and the men's team plays again tomorrow. GO USA!!

What has been your favorite part of the Olympics so far?